8 simple, last-minute Halloween decorating ideas

Martha Stewart
Martha Stewart

Halloween is just about upon us, and even if you haven't given much-or any-thought to getting your home in the creepy spirit, it's definitely not too late. There are a plenty of really easy things you can do to make your place prepped and festive for all the little trick-or-treaters who are about to start lining up on your doorstep, and none of them require a significant investment of time or money. Here, eight of my favorite spooky DIY Halloween decorating ideas.

If you don't feel like dealing with the mess of carving your own pumpkin, get a bunch of orange balloons, blow them up, and draw on a series of jack-o-lantern faces on them with permanent marker.

Give your place a Wizard of Oz twist: stuff striped stockings with newspaper, then add some pointy shoes. Place them somewhere at the base of your house, or tucked underneath your sofa, to look like a witch is trapped underneath.

Draw a template of a cat (don't forget to arch its back!) on black construction paper, make a cutout, and tape it on top of one of the baseboards in your entryway.

To give your house and abandoned, haunted house look, cover your furniture with white sheets (and if you want to go all the way with this idea, you could even nail a couple planks of wood on top of your front windows for a boarded up vibe).

Cut out large silhouettes of creepy figures out of black poster board to place in your windows. To make them stand out more, shine a light directly on the forms from behind.

Get foam board from your local crafts store and cut them out in the shape of tombstones. Spray paint them grey or black to arrange on your front lawn (with a dowel rod attached to the back).

Make some mushy pasta by boiling some spaghetti noodles, and placing them in a big serving bowl with grass and dirt from your front lawn for an icky, wormy effect to fake-offer trick-or-treaters.

Take old bottles and fill them with water and food coloring to display to make your foyer look like a scary science lab.

Sources: examiner.com, marthastewart.com, hgtv.ca, quickandsimple.com

Related: 30 easy DIY Halloween costume ideas, 12 tips for safe and flawless pumpkin carving, Are you Halloween prepared? Safety tips with a Parenting magazine expert